Neil Armstrong, Blood Drones, and Bicycle Mounted Speakers!

Maker Message Monday!

Hi All!

Here is your weekly dose of “Maker Message Monday”, a list of what we are enjoying or pondering as Makers!

Random Shower Thoughts

Videos We Are Watching

The blood we use from human transfusion has to come from… humans (for now).

This blood has a shelf life of 42 days in the U.S. A, 35 days in Europe, and similar numbers in the rest of the world.

Some research even suggests that Red Blood Cells can start to deteriorate after 21 days!

After a day of collection, the blood is put through a process of separating blood cells and plasmas followed by a series of standard tests. Finally, the blood is transported (typically by truck) to the hospitals.

Because of the shelf life, most blood will go unused.

Rich countries are able to fund their way to guarantee there are never stock outs.

But what about the poor countries?

With one of the lowest GDPs in Africa, you might think Rwanda would have a low life expectancy.

WRONG!

Rwanda has one of the highest life expectancies in Africa due to its ability to innovate in healthcare.

Take a look for yourself in this video of the week!

Articles We Are Reading

Schools around the world are working towards creating Makerspaces.

It seems like every day there is a new state of the art STEM lab being built!

But what does it take to run a successful Makerspace?

Technology Director Jeff Faust from Mecham and Charlottesville City Schools breaks down 5 great practices that we couldn’t agree with more!

Provide teachers professional development on how to use the technology, but also on how to incorporate STEM activities into their courses
There is no one-size-fits-all with technology
Foster interest by allowing students to create STEM clubs
To teach STEM successfully, students and teachers alike must embrace culture change
Consult experts when designing STEM courses and labs

You can see the full Ed Tech article here.